The Strongest Mortal
by Evyplayz121
Summary: After having lost all in his life, he seeks revenge. And he gets it. But the cost? His innocence. He became ruthless. Powerfull. Too powerfull. Will he succumb to the pull of his strength and become corrupted? or will he face all his hardships and inner battles, and come out victorious? [Hiatus]
1. Getting Ready

**A/N:** **Hi! So.. I'm back! Ya missed me? Of course ya did. Whadya mean ya didn't? It wasn't a question!**

 **Anyway, really glad you guys are back. Or, more like, i'm back. Huh. Interesting thought. Oh well.**

 **Just came around to tell you that THIS IS THE NEW REWRITE! It will supposedly be a more refined version of the source, and even though the source wasn't really big to begin with, it'll be better. Just, give it a chance aye? I'm struggling! Lolz, JK. Everything is fine! Right? Right?**

 **Crap.**

Welp, without any further ado, **ONTO THE STORY!**

A lone figure, cloacked in a black hood, can be seen walking in the shadows. Or rather, can't be seen. this, _figure_ , this, _man,_ is no ordinary man. No, this man has seen it all. Pain and suffering, torture and shock, disgust and humility. He's been through all of it. but he wasn't meant to. Or was he?

Fate can be quite decieving. At one moment, everything seems to be okay, and in the next, you are in torture chambers for so long you forget what the term 'walking' means, or how to use those things called 'legs'. But, if there's one thing you can say about fate, is that it is balanced. And if one have suffered, his revenge is only waiting for the opportunity to strike. And when it finds it, well, not much will be left for the imagination, now will it?

The figure stepped out of the shadows. You can't really see much of his face, but of what you can, you can tell this man would have women drooling on him, should he want them to.

But such things are not his goal. And they never were. He was tought better then that. And he keeps true to his teachings.

Never show your feelings. Never show emotion. It makes you seem weak. And, in a world filled with monsters, and not just mindless flesh eating creatures, having an emotionless mask put on, will always be the better option.

The man kept on walking in the now deserted streets, his cloak belowing behind him from the cool night's wind.

Without the cloak, this man would appear somewhat normal. Somewhat. He can never be normal.

Not with his past.

 **Athens, Greece**

 **683 B.C (I realized that Athens was built in 900 B.C so it can't be in 2694 B.C... curtesy of Wikipedia. Hopefully i'm correct. Feel free to correct me and point me to the right information if im wrong.)**

 **Percy POV**

I was walking down the beautifull streets of Athens. as i roamed about, i thought of what i'm going to do today. My father's birthday is in 3 days or so, so i wanted to buy him a gift. I weighed my options with a couple of 'favorites' i could think of; A new and improved guard for his sword. (He switched it 4 times in the last 2 months, it becomes annoying. And he doesn't want to replace the sword because of the blade; He's grown quite attached to it :D). _O_ _r,_ a couple of steel arrow tips to penetrate tougher surfaces. (These are really usefull against monsters with leather armor; You'd be surprised how many there are). _O_ _r,_ i could get him an almost unbreakable magical bow string. (Yeah those exist! It's pretty awsome what some money to the right child of Hecate can do...). Or, i can get him a new bow altogether. _O_ _r,_ i can just find something else usefull along the way... So many options!

Now, you are probably wondering _why_ do all of the gifts I plan on giving him have to do something with weaponry. Quite simple really. You see, my father is a clear sighted mortal, coming from a legacy of monster hunters. (That means I am clear sighted as well, and I'm already going on monster hunts with my father). We go out to the woods and hunt random monsters, or get contracts from people complaining that there are 'beasts' _{In ancient times they could see the weapons perfectly as it was what everyone used, but monsters were still hidden by the mist for them}_ destroying their crops or whatever. Whichever works.

When we finish a hunt/contract, we take what is left of the monsters; Be it animal hide, weapons, or even armor remnants. Then me and my father go to the market. But not just the normal market everyone uses. It is a special market made for demigods, clear sighted mortals, minor gods, and the likes. You can buy a lot of things there that you can't find in the normal market, such as spells, weapons, potions, etc.

So I entered a little house that was pretty concealed between all the buildings in Athens, and there was a guy behind a desk, reading something. He looked to be in his mid thirties or so, and his name is Asamaiah. He is of a family much like my father's in the sense of being a legacy. Asamaiah is the legacy of a family that protects the demigod market for centuries now. My father told me that the previous guardian who was a pretty close friend to him and quite friendly overall, Orleg, told him that the elder family males of the generation are trained until they reach the age of 18, and then wait until the current guardian quits or dies to take his place. The last guardian died before I knew him, so the only guardian I met is Asamaiah. He takes his job _reallllly_ serious. I mean, he barely jokes. Yeesh, at least have some sense of humor. It's not unhealthy or anything.

So I came up to him and said without any specialties (because I know he will still be his monotonous and boring self as usual) "Hey Asamaiah. can I enter the market?"

He only looked up and said "Who are you? state your name and buisness!"

I sighed, "my name is Perseus, son of Alego, and I would like to enter the demigod market."

"The _Pantheon Market. I_ t would do you well to respect what my family protects for centuries, monster hunter, but I will ignore your disrespect for now and let you pass." Then he said: _πόρτα, ανοιχτή!_ (door, open!) _{I know, not very original, but cut me some slack!}_ , and the blocks in the wall behind him began to fold back to expose a secret corridor leading to the market.

I sighed mentally and said "Sure thing Asamaiah. Thanks for letting me pass."

He only huffed in annoyance and moved to give me access, muttering something about 'disrespectfull brats'. I ignored him and walked through.

The 'Pantheon Market', as it's called, consists of all kinds of stands, small shops, and walking merchants selling and buying wares. I went to one of the stands me and my dad know well; Kierses' stand. Kierses makes weapons. They are not top quality, mind you, but he has the most justified price. The others are much more expensive for just a little more improvement, so we buy our stuff at his shop. They work pretty well, although there are some exceptions that need fixing. _{*ahem* sword guard *ahem*}._ Now, of course Kierses isn't the only one selling weapons, but as I said he is the best price compared to performance in what he sells. Although, if I will decide to buy my father the magical bow string, for an example, I will need to find someone else, as Kierses only sells normal, non enchanted heavy sharp weapons such as; Swords, knives, axes and etc.

I went to his stand to look at what he has available and decide what to buy for my father. "Hey Kierses! what's up?"

He looked at me and said "Ahhh! Perseus! What a nice surprise! I see you are alone. Is Alego alright?"

"Yes," I assured him, "I just came here to buy him a gift actually, as his birthday is in 3 days from now, and I would like to get him a surprise. I thought about a couple of stuff, but I would like to ask you for an advice. With everything connected to weapons, you know my father better then I do. What would you give him if you were me?"

He sat and brought his hand to his chin, thinking. "Hmm. That's a tough question. What would Alego want... Ah! I got it. We always have a friendly argument about what is better; A silent kill with a bow, or a strong slam and kill with a heavy weapon. Obiously, I am on the side of the big weapon. Well, I can't help it, I am after all a legacy of Ares. Big weapons call out to me! Anyway, your father always says that the bow is much better, but the only problem is that the string breaks way to often. Also getting a new bow is hard, as they are pretty expensive and hard to make. What i suggest is you get him a better bow or something."

Ok. So enchanted bow string and new bow it is. Now how to get that... It's going to be pricy, so I will have to manage it carefully, to not go over budget. I dont want to have debts or to need to go back home to get more money from my savings and get back. Oh yeah! There's that son of Hecate that owes me a favor. I can have him enchant the string to be stronger. Obviously it will still cost me, but he'll give me a discount, and maybe, just maybe I will have enough money to buy a decent bow as well. Father is going to be so happy!

I told Kierses of my plan to get an enchanted string and a nice bow. He approved and wished me good luck with my surprise.

First of all I'll need to get the bow and string. The string comes with the bow so it doesn't really matter, but I would need to take it off anyway for the enchantment to work. I got to a different stand. This one's merchant specializes in archery stuff. Everything from training bows for 10ft distances up to bows with 65 kilos of draw power and all the way to targets with fake arrows to cheat in competitiones... Well, he does have a variety, I'll give him that.

I went to his stand, which I'm quite familiar with. We visit him somewhat frequently to buy arrows and arrows tips. His name is Ergolon. When I arrived closer to him he looked at me and smiled "Hello. Your name is Perseus, am I correct?"

I felt happy that he remembered me as whenever my and my father would go to him I didn't really speak and just let father do all the talking and buying, while I stood on the side, waiting. "Ahmm yeah, my name is Perseus. It's nice that you rememeber me. Anyway, I came here to buy a gift to my father. I would like to get a _good_ bow for him. What are your options?"

"Well, let me see... How much are you willing to pay young lad?"

I pulled out the little sack I had with me that contained my money. Not all of it, but a nice chunk. In it I had 150 drachmas. "I have 150 drachmas. Do you have a bow that is somewhere around 110 - 120 or so?"

"Hmm. 110 - 120 you say. That's a nice amount there pal. Now about the bow. I'll have to go through the stocks and check. May I ask; You already have a bow. Why are you buying another one? Did it break?"

"Oh, no it didn't break. I'm simply buying my father a birthday gift. I know he really wants a better bow, so I decided to buy him one."

He whistled "Wow, that's very kind of you lad. Ok now let's see the bow..." He went back and went through the stocks behind the counter deck. "Ah, here is one I think will fit. It will cost you 120 drachmas." he pulled out a black bow made of poplar wood, one of the best for bow making, with beautifull designs and carvings. The nocks were made of gold painted wood and designed with elegance. The riser had grip shields, so if you happen to block a hit from someone with the bow and the blade slides across the limbs, it will stop and not cut off you fingers. Well thought out. The bow had no arrow rest, but it's ok. My father never used one anyway. Overall the bow was looking amazing. How the Hades does this thing cost only 120 drachmas?

"Wow. This bow is amaxing. Are you sure that this costs only 120 dracmas?"

"Yes, you are right, theoretically I should have sold it for a higher price. This thing _is_ a master piece, but it also exists in my storage for quite some time and I never really paid a heed to it. Actually, I kinda forgot it exists but now... Now it felt as if the bow calls out to me to give it to you. So I decided to sell it to you for 120 drachmas. Do you want it?"

"Wow. Yeah, of course I do! I mean look at this thing, it's amazing!" I said and counted 120 drachmas and handed them to him.

He chuckled "Alright. Pleasure to do business with you young lad. Go make your father happy eh?"

"Sure will. Thanks Ergolon!" And then I continued in my journey for my father's birthday gift. Now I only need to take the bow to that child of Hecate for him to enchant the string. What was his name again? Ah, yes. Spitha.

And so I went over to Spitha's stand. He isn't too far from Kierses' stand, which was how I got to him owing me a favor in the first place. Don't ask how it happened, but it involved some burning cats and a magenta colored cloud of smoke. It was hilarious, and I got a favor out of it, so I consider it a succesfull day overall.

I got to his stand and said "Hey Spitha. How's it going?"

He answered "Ah! You! You know I'm still gratefull for your help with that accident Mr..." "Perseus" "Perseus, yes. So, anything you need?"

"Actually yeah. I wondered if I could cash in that favor for an enchantment I want to make to this bow's string." I said as I showed him the bow in my hand. "To make it stronger, you know. I'm doing it as a gift to my father, his birthday is in 3 days so I decided to buy him a better bow with a stronger string so it wont tear all the time."

"I see. Ok so, as you probably know, enchantments are quite difficult to make, but I'll lower the price for you. Usually it would cost 70 drachmas for something like this, but for you I'll make it 25. Then we're even. What do you say?"

25 drachmas? Perfect! I only have 30 anyway, so that plays out well. "Yes please. And consider us even, Spitha." I handed him the string with a smile (after detaching it from the bow of course), and he took it and exemined it. "A very high quality string I see. good, it will make the enchantment faster. It will take about 30 minutes I think for the enchantment to complete. I could make it faster, but it might not work, or work poorly, or even destroy the string, and this one is exceptionally high quality, so I'll do it slowly but surely. Go do whatever you like but be back here in 30 minutes to recieve your string."

I told him thank you, and went to just roam around the market, with a string - less bow in my hand, a wide smile plastered on my face and 5 drachmas to my name. I looked around the stands for something that might intrigue me. I found a stand that sells all kinds of bags, be it little sacks for drachmas, or huge ones for wares. I found a sack big enough to put the bow in with the string and bought it, so when I'll give father the bow it would add to the surprise effect. I paid him the rest of the money I had, took the bag, and put the bow in it.

I continued to go around the market just looking at stuff that I might buy next time im here. 26 minutes pass and I decide to go over to Spitha's stand to see if he finished the enchantment on the bow string.

I arrive at his stand to see he actually just finished it. He lifts up his head from his work and sees me. "Ah, Perseus, good thing you are here. I just finished your bow string. It is perfectly well, and ready for use. Here, give it a go!"

I gratefully take the string, which now has a little gold - ish tint to it, attach it to the bow, and do a couple of practice draws to see if everything is fine. It works exactly as it should, although it will take a bit getting of used to.

"Thanks Spitha! This is awsome. Father will be so happy to see this!" He laughs "Sure, my boy. Have fun presenting it to your father!"

I take the bow and the sack and quickly run out of the market. I turn to my house and hide it in my room. Good thing my father isn't home yet, and instead is on some contract he found, it gives me the opportunity to hide it from him until the birthday.

I pass the rest of the day doing some house chores, being with the family and planning for the birthday. Soon enough, night comes and I go to bed.

I fall asleep quickly, thinking of how much father will be happy on his birtday.

 **A/N:** **Well! That is the first chapter for all of you nice people. Sorry for the delay, it was firstly meant to be published yesterday, but for some reason I couldn't write on my phone. You see, the computer in my house isn't very accesible, so i write on my phone. With that weird bug resricting me, I can only write on the computer, which is occupied most of the time. I'll try to find a way around it, and hopefully I'll be able to withstand the update scheduel I set up. Updates will mostly be on Mondays and Thursdays, hopefully. REMEMBER TO REVIEW, So I'll know what are your opinions on the story! Until next time,**

 **Evyplayz signing out!**


	2. Unexpected

**A/N:** **Hi! Wassap! Welcome to the new chapter! I don't know why I'm so happy, but to Hades with it, I like writing! Just the thought that people are actually putting in their time to read what I wrote makes me extremely happy. At the beginning, I simply liked reading. A lot. Like, through the night, into the morning, and missing school. But then, I decided to try my luck in writing. And lo and behold, people like it! Don't want to sound like a cliche bitch or anything, but it makes me happy!**

 **WARNING: this chapter contains a bit of gore. not much, but figured I'd warn you guys.**

 **Reviews:**

FictionChic18:

WOW! Loving it so far. One question, if you wouldn't mind answering, where is this story going, as in Annabeth and the rest of the canon characters?

 **Evyplayz:**

 **Well, I'm planning on it to enter the canon series somewhere later on. You see, I entered this story somewhat blindly, only having a vague directing on where I want the story to go to. You can tell I don't know exactly where to go with this, due to the simple fact that this is a rewrite of something I made and didn't like. I knew I could do better so I tried again. As for pairing, I want to first base my direction on this story, and then ask the readers' opinions. I, personally, like other pairings then Percabeth, but I'm open for ideas. I'll make a poll when I think the time for pairing is right. Until then, give me your opinions. Also, I don't want to make this story cliche, but one of my favorite FanFic types in FanFiction is Percy vs. Olympus. And obviously OP Percy. I mean, you can never have too many blessings right?**

Anyway, **ONTO THE STORY!**

* * *

A sharp scream could be heard, rolling through the otherwise quiet hours of the night. Although it was very different to the quietness that ruled at that moment, the only response to the sudden noise were a couple of yawns and streches of stray cats and maybe an angered dog bark or two.

The scream's source area, a fancy looking building with glass walls and fancy car garage and doors in the entrance, was then met with an eerie silence.

From that building, came out a man, covered in a black cloak that hid his body from others' prying eyes. But it did nothing to hide the blood stains that were very much visible with the reflective nature of the liquid, especially with the moon shining down on him, black cloth or not.

But even with the stains and stench of the freshly executed assasination, he dared not discard the cloak.

After all, he needed to hide his scars, his everlasting marks from his past.

His horrible past.

* * *

I woke up the next day at dawn, just like any other day. I'm used to this, waking up with the sun. I also like it. Makes me feel in tune with nature. I am living in it after all. Well, you can't really call a city nature, but we don't have skyscrapers at least. Wait. Skyscraper? The Hades is that? Ah well, just some random thought I guess. I swiftly checked on my gift. Everything looked fine, so I shrugged and got up to get washed and start my daily morning routine.

I wanted to go to the bath house to take a bath, but the fee is so stupidly high. It's just a bath for Zeus' sake! Also, It's only about five minutes of walking from where our house is, but my father tought me to be happy with what I have, and relish the feeling of clean clothes on my body, and fresh food in my mouth. Some people have it much worse then we do. See, we aren't the welthiest around here, and not having enough money to buy a house in the better parts of the city sometimes really shows it's annoyances. Nonetheless, I'm happy. But needing to walk twenty five minutes to take a bath? Now that's just absurd. But hey, here's life for ya. Pfff. Whatever. Not like I care. Who even needs those stupid baths anyway. The river's cold water are much nicer, I swear! Although it _is_ nice to have a proper bath once in a while...

Bickering aside, I took a bath and went back home to see my father and mother preparing breakfast. I help them by setting the table and dishes, and by the time I'm done the food is ready. We sit down, each taking some food to his own plate, (of course, after sacrificng to the gods Artemis and Zeus. Artemis for a successful and lucky hunt, and Zeus, for hopefully having a nice weather. We sacrifice to these gods especially more when we have contract days, which today was one,) and started to eat. Ooh, how much I _love_ my mother's cooking. This thing is godlike! _{haha... see what I did there? I'm funny.}_

After we finished our meal, with saying thanks and prayers to the gods, me and my father packed our gear. We each have steel braces on our hands and shin guards over leather padding, that is meant to make the armor pieces more comfortable to put on, and to protect better from blunt force hits. We don't have full armor sets because it is too expensive, it will slow us down, which is not what you want as a hunter, and it might be suspicious for us to have full sets. Above that we have un-tight cloaks to hide our skin from the sun on hot days, and give us mild protection from rain. Also, if we enter a creek and someone throws rocks at us from above, we can stretch it to block the projectiles. We slung our bows over our shoulders (normal bows, I haven't given him his gift yet as it is not his birthday), and took our hunting knives. We each had two knives. They are good for throwing as well as stabbing. After gearing up and saying our farewells to my mother, father and I went to the city's gates. We got out and went to the woods. Normally, each hunt we try to take on a different location, but there is a limited number of places you can go. Luckily though, monsters are moving creatures that come and go, so we do sometimes find monsters in areas we've been in before.

This time, our contract is about a small pack of hellhounds that was spotted about eight miles from city borders, near a small village closeby. We went out into the woods, in the location the hellhounds were last seen at, and started the hunt for them. Hunting always pumps up my adrenaline. The feeling of the forest moving by me and the wind in my hair as we run and look for leads is incredible. We searched for about two hours before my father called up "Perseus, I found something."

I immediatly rushed over to his side to see what he found. If he found a lead so fast we may have a chance to finish this before nightfall. I hope so. We have spent nights outside before, I'm no a stranger to sleeping outside of my house, but hey. I love my bed, thank you very much. I got to his side to see what he found. He found a large paw mark on the ground, obviously a hellhound, and although close to be trenslucent, it is a lead. "It's very large. The biggest I've seen. We must be carefull." "Yes... I have not seen one as big as this for a long, long time. You are right, we must be carefull. We don't know if this hound is with a pack, or is a loner." I doubt it is a loner. Hellhounds are known to go in packs. Once we found this little lead we took a moment to investigate our surroundings. Mostly whenever there is a lead like this, a lonely paw on the ground, it can mean one of two things. One; It is a trap, and you should get the Hades out of there. Or two; Something big happened. There is always the possibility that it is completely random, but hardened and skilled hunters such as myself and my father know better. And we did know better, as a couple minutes of intense investigation later I found a nother lead; Claw marks. On a tree, no less, leading further into the woods.

"Father, I've found another lead." He turned and walked to me. "What is it?" "Claw marks. On a tree. Still somewhat fresh it seems." I take out my finger and put it to the inner side of the claw mark, in the tree. "Quite moist." I take out my finger, and take a small lick. It has a bitter, sulfury like taste to it. Monster blood. I take a better look at the liquid on my finger. It is sulfury yellow, like most monsters, but you can see it is a bit darker than normal monster blood, as if it was mixed with a bit of ink. But it wasn't. I know what it is. Hellhound blood.

"Father, this is hellhound blood," I said, a bit of an edge entering my voice. Hellhounds never fight each other, unless commanded by a bigger entity. They are far too disorganized and simple minded to know who to attack other then mortals and none monster beings. This is... unnerving to say the least. "What do you think happened here?" I ask, looking warily around us. "I don't know, Perseus. Come, let's not dwell on it for too long, we would only sink ourselves with assumptions and concerns while distracting ourselves from the main purpose." I knew he was right, yet... I wasn't able to shake off the feeilng of dread that suddenly sunk on me. But I shrugged it off as pressure from the oncoming birthday, and the gift I meant to give father. Yet, it didn't shake off.

 **LINEBREAK**

We continued on our hunt. The leads we found lead us closer towards the village, but not through the main road. It lead us South-East of the spot we found the claw marks, through a denser part of the forest. We walked for about four miles before we found it; The second lead. Another claw mark. This one looked much more fresh then the last one. We were getting closer. I decided to take a look around and my breath hitched. "Oh my..." How did I not see that a second ago? The entire surrounding area was filled with claw marks. Some were leaking blood. Mortal blood. This wasn't just a small pack, no, it was much more than that. Both of us unseathed our weapons and advanced forward, alert for any mosters lurking in the woods. And then was the first body; A guy, looked about my father's age, poor and simple, layed on the floor. Or what was left of him. His legs were half ripped off, his hands were bent in unnatrual angles, and he was missing most of his torso. He wasn't killed, or murdered. He was slaughtered.

I nearly threw up right then and there. It was too much. But we needed to find out what happened, it was more out of curiosity rather then finishing the contract now. Who was this man? Why was he killed? Why was he even here in the first place? He obviously tried to fight back, but according to the marks and their size, it was futile. The hellhound was seemingly huge and killed this man without much problem whatsoever. Me and my father could potentially kill it, but it will be hard, and very dangerous.

Usually, I'm thrilled for a challenge. Not so much this time.

We continued walking until we saw it; Another body. This time there were more. Bodies littered the ground and performed a sickening path towards the village. We both reached the same conclusion at the same time and our eyes widened; We ran to the village.

We were too late.

We got to the entrance of the village. My father stood at my left as we were shocked in place and just stared at the horrifying sight in front of us. The roads were soaked with blood as kids, women, and elderly bodies were thrown like nothing. Houses were exploded. Fields and crops were broken and burned. There weren't just hellhounds. this wasn't just an attack that a couple of merciless monsters initiated because they were hungry or something. It was a co-ordinated attack on the village. It was an army.

We were so focused on the sight in front of us we didn't pay attention to what was happening around us; Until I heard a growl to my left. "Dad, watch out!" I yelled as he regained his senses. He turned and dodged just a hellhound jumped at him. As the hound landed four more came from behind the houses and the trees.

None were as big as the one we saw evidence of earlier, the one that decimated the first body. But they were still big. 3ft - 4ft tall each, with menacing red eyes who shone with hatred and pure primal rage.

The first one turned back at us and glared. We stood, side by side, weapons drawn, slightly crouched with the swords in front of us in a defensive stance.

And he pounced at me. I waited until the last second like I was tought and side stepped all while swiping up my sword and giving him a long cut on the side of his body. He whimpered before exploding into golden dust. The four last hounds growled at us and crouched, recognizing us as a bigger threat then they initially thought.

This time two hounds circled around us while the other two got closer but still stayed a safe distance away. Once me and my father were back to back they lunged at us. We both rolled to the sides. Father to the left and I to the right. I got back on my feet just as the hound charged at me. He swiped with his claws but I managed to parry the strike to the side. I countered with an upwards slash but it back stepped. I rushed to it intent on ramming it and finishing the fight as soon as possible, to get out of here before more monsters arrived.

It side stepped but to late as it was surprised, so I managed to graze it's left side. It howled in pain before lunging at me with renewed vigor. This time, instead of side stepping, I ran at it and planted my feet like a football player, sliding underneath it while holding the sword up, cutting the hound in half.

It didn't even utter a sound before exploding, but I didn't have time to celebrate. The two other hounds, which were slightly bigger and seemed smarter then there predecessors, advanced slowly on me. I took a second to reassess my situation and take a look around. My father just killed the hound that charged at him, but had quite a deep claw mark on his left thigh, making it much harder and more painful for him to move and dodge. If he won't recieve medical attention soon it might get infected, and get worse. Still, we were doing pretty good so far; We killed three of the five hell hounds, with no injuries on my part. But the battle was still not over; The last two were on me, and my father was recovering from his fight, wrapping his wound quickly. So I decided to buy some time for my father to help me finish these two hounds. I leveled my sword and took deep, calming breathes, eyes never leaving my opponents. I decided to lead them away from my father so he might go from behind them and help me finish it quickly.

I started to slowly go the side and backwards, so my father might sneak on them. He cought what I was trying to do and advanced slowly, careful to not let his leg bleed to much and cause too much noise, as they were focused on me. I kept on stalling waiting for them to make a move, and they did. I saw the left hellhound's muscles tense and got ready, letting my reflexes act. As it lunged I side stepped to the left while swinging with a wide arc to the right, effectively cutting it's head off. I immediately looked over to the last hound to see it already charged. but not at me. My father was not ready for this. His leg was still weak. As the hound lunged he managed to act, but not fast enough. The hound jumped while extending his right claw a bit further then his left, and when my father moved and struck, he hit him badly in his sword hand, in the shoulder and bicep area. My father cried out in pain. "Father!" I ran to him as fast as possible. His hand was hit badly, and he laid on the floor to ease on his leg. "Perseus, I have some nectar in my pack," He said through greeted teeth. He is in immense pain, and the wound can get infected. Nectar can prevent it. "Bring it, quick." I ran to the packs we left a couple yards away on the entrance where the hounds first attacked. But when I looked over to my father, I realized our mistake; The hounds pushed us to the woods. In the corner of my eyes a huge hellhound, at least 10ft tall, suddenly ran out of the woods to my father's left. I screamed to my father with wide eyes but it was to no avail. He was grounded, and I was to far away to act.

My father saw the hound. We both knew there was nothing any of us could do. As time felt like it slowed down, just before the hound could swipe his giant claws on my father's chest, he looked at me with a sad smile and mouthed three words.

 _"I love you."_

And the claws hit their mark.

Time seemed to stop. My ears rang, blocking every sound from the outside. My eyes were wide open, but saw nothing. My mouth gulped air, yet nothing seemed to go thorugh my dry throat. But my mind was working. And only thought went over and over, time and time again, the three words my father said to me. _"I love you."_

My father was gone.

He was gone.

The hound killed him.

 _The hound killed him..._

Realization seemed to hit me at that moment. My muscles responded to the pure, unconrollable amount of rage bubbling inside of my body, making me shake of fury. Before I knew it, I ran to the hound, full sprint with my sword in my hand and a scream of fury and rage coming out of my mouth. The hound turned to me, preparing for impact, but nothing could stop me from getting my revenge. As I got close the hound swiped at my but I jumped up with strength I didn't know I still had left, and used it's paw as a ledge, ran up his body one more step before jumping up to it's head, and swiped with all the force I could muster.

The hound's head rolled off before it turned to dust, as it's whole body. But I didn't care I just killed a monster that would make the bravest of monster hunters to run back with wet pants. Only one thing was burned in my mind. _F_ _ather._

I landed and immediately ran up to his limp body laying on the floor, tears of exhaustion, anger and sadness streaming down my face, as I held his hand, that was getting colder by the second.

"Father! No! Please, father, please! Don't leave me! Just stay awake, I'll get the nectar and-" "Perseus." He stopped me and I looked at him, sadness and pain in his eyes but mostly, acceptance. "Listen to me. The Fa- *cough* Fates decreed that I die today. *cough*. Don't let this stop you from living your life my boy. I *cough* regret many things in my life but you, you- *cough* are the only thing I will never regret. Live your life boy. *cough* Don't... Don't let my death stop you." He said while coughing more, this time blood came out as well.

"But h-how?" I asked with a choked voice, not believing what I was hearing. "How am I supposed to continue on w-without you? W-Without a guide?" I said, as more tears flowed freely. "Y-You must, Perseus. And you wil- *cough* you w-will find a way. You always do." He said with a sad smile on his paling face, tears leaking out of his eyes as well. His eyes, that were dulling by the minute. "No matter... No m-matter which path you choose my son, kno- *cough* know that I will always love you. Me and your m-mother. Tell her that I will miss her, and t- *cough* that I'll be waiting for her. Farewell my boy. I love you."

And with that his hand went limp, and his eyes dulled.

I just sat there, near my father's body, not even noticing that rain has started dropping down, soaking me to the bone. I just couldn't comprehend why this happened...

"WHY?!" I yelled to the sky, "Why did you take him from me?! Did I do something wrong!?" I screamed as I started to break down. "Why did you do this?" I said, as exhaustion started taking over me, the lack of adrenaline from the end of the fight calling me to the warm embrace of unconsciousness,"why?"

And then I only barely whispered, as my vision started to dim. "Why?"

And I blacked out.

 **A/N:** **Well... that was a good chapter overall I think. Kinda tragic at the end, but I had to spice it up a bit, you know? And how was the fighting scene? small, I know, but i tried my best... Tell me what are your opinions in the reviews! Also, I would like to adress some things. First is, that Percy in this AU is _completely mortal._ In the canon series he makes it sound like killing monsters is easy. It's not, especially when you don't have the extra strength and natrual skill with a sword due to god blood in your body. Percy is mortal, and as such, has a much more difficult time fighting then demigods, skill-wise and physical-wise. next, HAPPY NEW YEARS! I thought about doing a special one but that would have required me to go off scheduel and I was already a bit stressed. Until next time,**

 **Evyplayz signing out!**


	3. Another Great Loss

**A/N:** **HI! Wellcome to chapter 3! Ya! I'm so happy you guys, this rewrite already surpassed the original story in follows and favorites! This makes me so happy seeing that people are liking it. Now let's jump into questions you guys might have on last chapter:**

 **How did Alego (Percy's father) lose so quickly to those hounds? He has been a hunter for more years then Percy's life, he should have been able to kick their asses easily. A: Well,there isn't really a sollution to this one. I'm geussing he is getting old mayby? Or he was to stunned from the scene around him to react as good? In any case, it'll all go down to AU logic.**

 **Why did Alego have nectar in his pack, he is mortal, nectar would kill him if he drank it? A: Well that's true, but nothing in the canon series or any other place really showed what happens if you just drip nectar on a wound of a mortal. I only assumed it would work, and, AU logic.**

 **Also, I decided I'll stop with those weird lone figure stories. I actually started it cuz... I could? Anyway I don't really have where to go with these they are quite pointless. I really don't know why I started with them in the begining.**

Anyway, **ONTO THE STORY!**

* * *

I woke up with my head hurting like Hades, and my throat drier then the desert. I look around me to see I'm lying in a bed. I look to my sides noticing a glass of water on the desk.

I slowly and happily take it and gobble down the water. Now that my throat is a little moist and my thoughts are a bit clearer, I take a better look on my surroundings. I woke up in a tent.

Hmm. That's weird. I don't remember going to sleep in a tent. Last thing I remember is-

Oh no.

The memories hit my head like a brick.

Father.

The village.

The hellhounds.

I started to tear up as I thought about my father. He died. He truly is gone.

I started to sob quietly, not noticing I wasn't alone in this room, until I heard someone, "Are you okay kid?"

I looked up to see a man, looking about at his mid thirties or so, with blond hair and blue eyes, a golden tan, And a doctor's attire.

I was angered at his words. "No. I'm not _okay_. My father died in front of my eyes, how _can_ I be _okay_?!" I snapped at him, the stress and sadness from the battle finally catching up. He didn't pay it attention and instead looked at me with a sad smile and something that I hate; Pity. If there is one emotion I hate people showing me is pity. My father always said that it is best to use what you make yourself, and not to rely on others for most things, and to not recieve things from strangers. Feelings of pity included.

Father. My eyes teared a bit at the thought of him, but I mentally shaked my head thinking _'what would father think of me now, crying. He wouldn't want to see my crying. He would want to see me strong, he would want me to get over his death with my head held high'_ and after I scolded myself and regained my senses I looked at the doctor (I'm assuming) that took care of me. "Sorry for the outburst, it's just that, everything is coming back to me, my father and all."

"Aye, don't worry about it. I doubt I would react any better. So, how are you _physically_ feeling?"

"Well, I've seen better days I'd say. But could be worse." "Good! Always be optimistic, life is much more awsome like that." He smiled and I shaked my head at his antics and slowly tried to get up. Key word, 'tried'. I was surprised to see all of my muscles sore. Sure, I didn't move for a bit of time and overused my muscles last night, but I shouldn't be feeling this bad. "How long have I been unconscious for?" He looked at me, a somewhat nervous and uncomfortable look in his eyes.

"Well, ahh, you shouldn't bother yourself, especially with your medical state. I'd suggest you get rest and forget about it for now" He chuckled nervously. I narrowed my eyes at him, obviously noticing the subject evasion attempt. "How long have I been unconscious for?" I asked in a bit harder tone. He looked at me a bit uncomfortably, but relented and said, "Well, promise your not going to freak out"

I signaled him to go on.

"Ahh, youhavebeenunconsciousforfourdays"

I stared at him blankly. "What?"

He looked at me, looking as if he'd prefer to be anywhere but here, but then sighed and said "You have been unconscious for four days"

I kept on staring at him for a couple seconds. Apparently he thought I simply took it well as he said, "Phew, wow, I thought you were going to freak out. Well, I see that you are taking it pretty we-"

"WHAT THE HADES?! FOUR DAYS!?"

"Oh well, guess I was wrong. Yeah, you suffered from immense over exhaustion and your mind was bottle necked with emotions and events overload which ended with your body entering a comatose state so it will be able to heal itself and for your mind to recover."

I stared at him with disbelief. I can't believe it. I was unconscious for most of the week! "Wait, what is your name?" I asked him as calmly as I could. The poor guy suffered enough outbursts from me.

"Oh, yeah, I figured my client would like to know my name. I'm Asclepius, son of Apollo and the lead healer in the unit that came to the village. And yes, I am named after my half-brother, the god of medicine. In my birth, my father saw my aura and potential in healing abilities and decided to name me after the god of medicine as a good omen."

I nodded numbly, amazed at the fact that I'm near a son of an Olympian. Sure, I have been in presence of other demigods in my life, Spitha is an example, but not an Olympian demigod. I signaled him I understood. But one thing seemed odd. "Why was there a unit coming to the village? How did you even know what happened, the village is a couple hours of traveling from the borders of Athens. Not that I'm ungratefull or anything, just curious."

He chuckled "Don't worry, it's your right to know. Apparently one of the civilians from the village was able to run from that massacre, and made route to the city to request help. We checked and saw he was telling the truth and readied a unit of a couple troops and healers to go and check what happened and look for survivors. Needless to say, we were baffled by what we saw. We regained our wits and started to look for survivors. We began to lose hope until we saw you lying unconscious on an older man's body, looking blue and pale. I ran to you as fast as I can and checked your vitals. You were suffering from mild hypothermia and muscle overuse, so I took care of you personly.

"But now _I_ have a question. Why were you here in the first place? We saw you had some armor and weapons that obviously weren't made in the village, so what were you doing here?"

"Me and my... Father... Are monster hunters. We were on a contract hunting a small pack of hellhounds that was spotted a couple miles from the city borders. We went to check and followed the leads we found to see it leading to the village. It seemed that the men in the village met the army of monsters head on to try and let the residents escape, but it didn't work, as you could see. My father and I deduced that it was an army, as what little we saw of the bodies, we saw they were killed by weapons and had bite and cut marks. We went to investigate, but got ambushed by five hellhounds. I killed the first and then two jumped at me and my father, seperating us. I killed mine, which led to the remaining two to advance on me. My father killed his but recieved an injury on his thigh. I stalled the two hellhounds that faced me and waited for my father to recover and help me. He snuck behind them when they had their attention turned to me, but when one charged at me the other surprised my father and lunged at him.

"With his leg still injured, he didn't move fast enough and recieved a big hit on his shoulder and bicep area, but killed the hound. He sat down to rest and requested me to bring him the nectar we brought in our bags, that were left a couple meters away in the side entrance. Only when I reached the bags did I notice that the hounds pushed us to the tree line. That's when a 10ft tall hound jumped from the trees to my father's left and hit him fatally in the stomach. I was so angry I simply charged the hellhound, jumped on it's paw and cut off it's head with a swing. Then I rushed to my father's side but it was too late. He didn't survive the hit, and you know the rest."

He listened and looked at me with a proffesional stoic expression, but I could see in his eyes that he held sadness, compassion, pity, and is that... Awe?

"I'm sorry for your loss. We will escort you to the city and let you give your father a proper burial. The main part of the unit already left, it's just you, me, and 3 soldiers I have direct command on. I'll lead you to yours and your father's gear. Can you stand?"

I tried to sit slowly, as my muscles were still stiff from not moving for four days. It took my a good 3 minutes or so, but I managed to sit upright. After I sat up I tried to stand but my leg muscles were too stiff for me to stand by my own yet, so after I got them used to be in standing position, he left outside for a minute and came back with a pair of crutches for me to use until my legs will be normal again.

When we got out of the tent. It was about midnight, and I saw that we were still in the village. I looked around and saw that the village was cleaned of bodies. Asclepius saw me looking and said "Yeah, while you were out we piled all of the bodies except that of your father and burned them in a small funeral and then salvaged what we could from the village, after doing our best to clean it. Did nothing for the stence of death in this place, though. After that the rest of the soldiers left and we stayed here waiting for you to wake up."

Then we started to walk around the mini camp meant for Asclepius and those with him. Then I realized what he said and a disturbing thought came to me "Hey Asclepius, if you don't mind me asking, why did you of all healers stay to to heal me? You are a higher rank then normal so why did you stay with me? Couldn't any other normal tier healer stay?" "Not that I'm complaining, of course." I added quickly, realizing what I said.

He chuckled at my discomfort and said, "Well, to be honest, I'm not sure. Apollo is also the god of prophecies, as you probably know, but that didn't matter or had anything special todo with me up until a couple days ago. When I first looked up at you something happened to me. I suddenly had this immense feeling that your future will be very important. I wanted to make sure you will get the best and fastest healing possible for whatever will happen to you in the future."

"Well, thanks, Asclepius. I really appreciate it." "Sure. Actually, now that I think of it, I don't even know your name." I mentally face - palmed and said "Oh yeah, sorry. My name is Perseus, son of the late Alego."

"Very well. You already know me. I think you don't need the crutches anymore." he said and I noticed he was right, my legs felt normal again. "Thanks for that Ascly." He looked at me "Ascly?" He said with an amused tone. "Well, yeah, Asclepius is too long for me to pronounce comfortably and the author is getting sick of writing it." "What? the author?" "Nevermind" "Eh, whatever. Well, _Perseus,_ I'm not going to call you this all the time as well, so let me come up with a better nickname." He thought of one and came to a conclusion. "Ah! I have a good one. Percy! What do you say?" he said, with a hopefull tone in his voice.

I looked at him and thought the nickname isn't _too_ bad, so I accepted. "Okay then, Percy it is." He gave me a blinding smile and we went to a different tent.

"Alright, here is your gear, you can grab it. Your father's is in the other side of the room."

I went over and took my things. I put on my bracers and greaves _{shin guards, they have a name!},_ put on my belt with both my knife sheathes, strapped on my sword sheath and sheathed my sword in it and then slung my bow over my shoulder, with my quiver at the other.

I looked at my father's stuff. I knew that I'm not going to throw them away. So I decided I'll just take them for safe keeping or use them. It was still hard without my father but I knew that if I'm not going to use my father's gear, no one will. And as much as I'd prefer to leave them as they are in my house, I knew my father wouldn't support this decision. But I'm still not going to use my father's armor. It is too big for me anyway, so at least one thing will stay safe. I took his backpack and put all of his things there. His armor, knives, supplies. I took his sword, as having two will be better. My father used a back strap as his sword sheath, so it was on his back, with his backpack above it. He uses the same sword I use, a normal, 3ft celestial bronze xiphos _{not riptide, this will be later. Unless your sick of it and want a different weapon? Tell me in a review!}_. I strapped his sword sheath with the sword in it, and put his backpack above it. His bow was destroyed when the big hellhound killed him, so I threw it. But I did take his arrows and put them in my quiver.

I looked over to him and said "I'm ready." He gave me a nod and we got out of the tent. While I was putting on my gear, he ordered his men to fold up camp. A couple minutes later everyone was ready to go. I discarded my own backpack, (after taking the supplies of course,) because I didn't need it. My father's one was bigger anyway.

Then Asclepius came to me and said "Percy. We will take your father's body with us to Athens so you will give him a proper burial with your family." I nodded at him but then remembered something. My mother! How could I forget? "Ascly! I can't believe it! I forgot about my mother! What am I going to say? how will she react? What will she do?" I started firing questions at him. "Okay, Percy, stop. Take a deep breath, and calm down." i did as he said and calmed down, just a bit. "But what am I going to do?" He looked thoughtfull for a minute befor saying "Well listen Percy, there is no easy way to put it. As much as it is hard, it will only be harder thinking more and more about it. Leave it for now, we will dwell on that when we reach Athens. Right now, we need to go. The sun is rising, and I want to get to Athens, preferably in the afternoon."

I nodded and we started walking to the city, with the 3 soldiers carrying my father's body.

 **LINEBREAK**

We reached the gates of Athens at about mid-day. When we passed thorugh, Asclepius came to me and said "Well, Percy, I'm going to go with you to help you with your father's funeral, but then I have duties. It was really nice getting to know you, even if I'd prefered it to be under better circumstances."

I smiled at him and said "Likewise, Ascly." Then, we went to my house. I live in a small secluded area in Athens, about half a mile from everything bigger. With a small community there, it is pretty nice actually. When we reched my house my blood froze at the sight. The door was kicked open and was almost off of it's hinges. I sprinted to the door ignoring Asclepius calling out to me and rushed inside, dreading what I might find.

And what I found made me want to curl up in a little ball and cry.

There was my mother, lying in the living room, with a hole in her chest.

No...

No no no no no...

Not my mother too! Why? "WHY?! First my father and now my mother too?! What have I done wrong?!"

And then I just dropped to the floor and started sobbing and crying. Asclepius and his soldiers saw everything. He came to me and without a word dropped on his knees and wrapped me in a hug. I hung to him like a lifeline, afraid he will leave me too.

I don't know how long we stayed there, but at some point Asclepius let his soldiers go home, as they were tired and wanted to rest in a bed. They went off and we stayed there, on the floor, until I regained my senses and was able to talk without crying. "Thank you, Asclepius. You have no idea how much I needed this." "No problem Percy. Know that I'm always here if you need me. We are friends after all." It warmed my heart to hear he wanted to be my friend. Not a lot wanted to be friends with me. Coming from him meant a lot. "Thank you Ascly. I don't know how to repay you." He scoffed at me and said "Nonsense. We are friends, and that's what ffriends do. I wanted to help you because I thought it was the right thing to do, not because I wanted repayment. You owe me nothing." I nodded, not really knowing how to respond to what he said to me. No was ever that nice to me, except my parents, but they are both dead now.

"Alright Percy, we need to put them to rest. Let's give them a proper burial." I nodded numbly, knowing I can't get away from having the funeral. So we set to work. I knew I wouldn't be able to take care of the bodies. It was too much for me still. So I got everything else ready. I set the small stands which my parents' bodies will be put on, and readied the torch. By the time I was ready Asclepius finished cleaning the bodies and went to the market to buy burial shrouds _{you are probably thinking; WTF. Why would he go to the market to buy burial shrouds. Well, he is a lead doctor, he has special access to these things. obviously a lot of people die in hospitals so yeah, he has access}_. When I was ready we wrapped the bodies with the shrouds. A lot of people heard what happened and came to the funeral. There were a couple of my father's friends, some I know, some I don't. Kierses was also there, as well as Spitha. Also some neighbors from the local area that came to pay last respect to my parents. Then I was ready to say my final words.

I went to my mother's body wrapped in the shroud. The sight brought me a sick feeling. "Mother. I'm so, so sorry. I wasn't able to spend nearly as much time with you as I would have wanted to. You were so important in my life. If father was the head, you were the neck. Neither of us would've been able to live without you. I always saw it you know. The way his eyes lit up whenever he heard you, whenever you called him. He loved you. I love you. But fate has it's own way, and we couldn't spend more time together. I'm so sorry, I wasn't able to save you. Forgive me."

Now I was shedding tears freely. But it was not the end. I went to my father's shroud. "Father. Words can't explain or describe the sandness I'm feeling right now. You were my guide, my place to look up to at all times." I was openly crying right now. "Y-You were the best father a child can ask for. Y-You know, we never got to celebrate your birthday together. It would have been nice. Like we usually do. We would buy dessert at the bakery and eat it after we ate mother's amazing food." This brought a wistful smile to my face. But it was gone as fast as it came. "But, again, fate wasn't at my side. I will be lost without your guidence, but I will get over it, because I know that this is what you would want. And I hope You will live in the afterlife happily. Goodbye, father, mother. I will miss you."

And with that I took the torch and lit up the shrouds, all while crying my eyes out. The flammable substance burned quickly, taking my parents' bodies with it. After a couple of minutes nothing was left but ashes that were scattered by the wind.

After that a lot of people came to comfort me, but nothing did. I wouldn't move. Then Asclepius came. "Come on, Percy. You can't stay here. Go to sleep like a normal person. Here, let me help you up." He lifted me and helped me go to my room. A thought came to me, and I immediately went to my closet hoping that at least in one thing fate will be with me, and saw that the secret cabinet wasn't opened. I sighed in relief and opened it to see a plain sack, seeming to hold something long and narrow in it. I took it out and opened it. Inside it was a black bow, made of poplar wood with gold nocks and a golden riser.

Asclepius, which got in with me, looked at it with awe. "Wow, Percy. What is this bow? Where did you get it from?" I smiled a bit at his enthusiasm. He might be a healer, but his father _is_ the god of archery as well. "It was a bow I bought my father as a birthday gift. I was meant to give it to him yesterday but, I can't anymore. It really is a masterpiece."

He nodded in understanding and as much as he wanted to know more about the bow, I saw he didn't want to pry, and I was thankfull for it. I felt like if I'm going to start talking about it I'm going to burst out crying.

"Alright Percy. You know, if you want to talk to me, I'm ready. I'm here for you." I smiled and nodded. I thanked him for supporting me and being with me through all of it. He then left and I went to bed, clutching the bow in my hands. That's when the dam broke, and I couldn't hold it in anymore.

I cried for what felt like hours on hours, letting all the sorrow and sadness wash away in tears.

And then I fell asleep.

 **A/N:** **Wow! Man that took quite a while to finish. I must say, this was an emotional one. I'm so so sorry guys, I'm late on scheduel I know, and I'm so sorry. Most of my work I do on my phone, and my school, which I am not allowed to bring my phone to, caught me with my phone, took it, and now I'm not going to get my phone back untill sunday, so... Yeah. Anyway, tell me, how did you like this chapter? Write it down in the review alongside anyother thoughts and suggestions you have for me to improve on the story. Also, I just wanted to say that Percy's relationship with Asclepius won't continue in the far future. Sorry if you like, he is simply not a part of my plans. Until next time,**

 **Evyplayz signing out!**


	4. Crucial Information

**A/N:** **Hi! Wellcome to chapter 4! I'm so happy to introduce to you guys to the... Ah... Next chapter? Ah well, I wanted to put a usefull Author's Note in the begining of every chapter but I guess not all chapters need one. Sorry for the long wait and I hope you enjoy this one lads!**

Anyway, **ONTO THE STORY!**

* * *

I opened my eyes to see I was floating in nothingness. Man, why do all the weird things happen to me? All I wanted was a peacefull sleep, especially after the events of the previous day. I felt my body being pulled to the side and, even though I had a bit of control over my movements, I was still not able to resist, so I decided to go along with it, to see where it will bring me.

I came in front of a small island in where I could only assume as literaly No-where in Nothing-land. The island was not very big, 20 meters wide and 15 meters long or so, and looked relatively empty. But there was something on the completely random looking island. Three old ladies, who were hunched over a big casserole. Needless to say, I knew exactly who they were the moment I saw them. They were the Fates, Atropos, Lachesis, and Clotho. I didn't know for the life of me why the heck were they looking in a casserole, as they were supposed to knit the thread of life. It appeared they didn't see me as I went closer to them, curios on what were they doing. I knew this is risky, for if they knew I was there looking and spying on them they would surely blast me to oblivion, even if they don't know how I got there. But, curiosity killed the cat, right?

So I peered closer, trying to see what they were seeing. And what I saw made me lose my breath for a second.

Thet were looking at me.

The fates were looking at my past deeds, at my life. That feeling, where others see all of your life, from the moment you are born to the moment you are now, or even to the moment you are dead, it felt as if I was to stand on a stage, completely naked, and spin around for the judges to admire my body. Completely embarresing. I wanted to shout at them to stop looking at my life, until I remembered who they were, who I was, And I suddenly got the feeling that if I was to yell they would hear me and spot me, and then try to kill me or worse. So I stayed quiet for now.

I looked as the fates continued to watch my life. Here I was, in my mother's arms, a newborn. Then, I was on my hands and knees, crawling on the floor half a year later. Then, I was saying my first words. Then I was taking my first step. Going to kindergarden. First year of school. First time holding a sword, trying to swipe at my father, but failing and falling from the momentum of the strike as he side stepped while he laughed mirthfully and I just pouted. Then I was there, with my first ever bow, trying to shoot. My first set of knives. There I was, killing my first monster under my father's watchfull eye, as I took on a baby hellhound with my 8-year old hands and minimal skillset. My crazy happy reaction when I killed it, even if it did tackle me to the ground and scratched me in the hand a little bit. My father's eyes, shining with pride.

All these memories coming to me, bringing happy and wistfull tears to my eyes. Then it changed into more recent events, and one I don't remember. I saw a giant, looming figure, 8"4 tall at the very least with bulging muscles and face hidden in the shadows. From what I was able to see of his body he wore a white toga with gold trimming, lookin to have been made by the best and finest suit makers. The figure bellowed angrily to someone away from the point of view and said, "Is the army ready?" The 2nd figure, with a shaky voice responded "Y-Yes, Milord. Soon the world shall feel our power, and the olympians will have no choice but to surrender. We will win this time." The giant smiled. "Good. I want you to start with that puny little village a little ways off Athens, instill fear in the hearts of the mortals, and send a silent message to the gods."

"As you wish Milord."

I was startled by this. Whoever this guy was he was the one who sent those monsters. The one responsible for the death of my father. The death of those hundreads of innocents in the village. I had to figure out who he was.

But before I could try and piece out the figure's identity, the visions in the casserole kept on. I saw my father and I going on our first contract together, I saw us encountering the Minotaur for the first time, I saw us running from a herd of flesh eating sheep. Then I saw my father and I going on the last contract. Finding the first leads and then the village. The battle. The hound. Then it suddenly skipped into a different place. My house. I looked anxiously, trying to see if I remember the next event. But I soon realized I didn't, and I soon realized what event was about to take place.

My house's robbery.

It was an early morning hour. I looked at the scene, unable to tear my eyes off of the casserole. I watched as a pair of men broke into the house, and to my shocked eyes, killed my mother. Simply, with not a single glance at the house or the items in it, or any sign of remorse for killing an innocent woman, just rammed in, saw my mother and simply killed her. I couldn't believe my eyes. But then when I heard what they said, I couldn't believe it.

"Damn it. Where are they? He said they should be here."

"Relax. They might be here soon. Let's wait here."

I just stayed there, fuming and infuriated at what I saw and heard, shaking with fury. They just killed my mother and were just going to stay there? And then I saw them start destroying my house, breaking everything, taking every valuables. But I was more angry and confused then anything. Someone sent these people to kill us? Who are they? Who sent them?

Finally, after what felt like forever, they decided to leave as it appeared we were not there yet. "Come. Let's go and return later. We will come back tommorow at first light to finish the job if they are back."

And they left the house, leaving me dumbfounded. But what I saw next made me shiver.

It was me, entering the house with Asclepius and his troops, about what seemed like half an hour from when the robbers left my house. The robbers said they will come back at first light. I was currently sleeping.

They might be here any second.

* * *

And they were. The moment I realized this I woke up to the sound of thumping on the house's floor. I immediately sprang up from my bed, put the black bow to the side and snatched my sword from my night stand. I stood guard at the door to my room and listened.

"Hey, Ritolos, I hear something." The other, Ritolos, answered, "Then check it out you idiot. I'll stand guard outside in case someone tries to come around." And that was my luck. They seperated. I waited until I heard the sound of foot steps creeping on my room's door. I waited until the one that came to my room opened the door and entered the room. It appeared he recognized someone was here, probably due to the disheveled bed sheets. He was about to yell to his companion, but he didn't make it as I creeped behind him, and hit his temple with the pommel of my sword, while simultaneously hitting his other temple with my other hand, effectively knocking him out for quite a bit of time. I slowly got out of the room, after hiding the attacker's unconscious body behind the desk and taking his dagger, that was sheathed to his thigh. I went to the entrance to the house, knowing the other, the one named Ritolos, was there. Then, to my awfull luck, he decided to get out of his guarding spot and into the house.

"Hey, Ptolemus, did you find any- Hey! What did you do to Ptolemus?!" He yelled as he saw me and unsheathed his sword. I took a second to look at him. He was about 30- something to 40 years old, armored with chainmail armor that seemed to be very effective. Light, yet offering nice protection. He had a sword but no shield, as expected since it was only meant to be, probably, an assasination mission, not a fight. He did have armor, but I assume he was still not expecting any resistence, and it acted simply as a fail safe, should something like this happened. I did spot some holes and weaknesses in his armor, ones that I'll have to fully use to my advantage if I want to win this fight. He was quite tall standing at 5"8, pretty close to my own 5"10, with a built body yet one that is also fit for speed. I analayzed his stance and knew right away he is not going to be an easy opponent, especially compared to my own unarmored figure. I am slightly taller but I believe that what he doesn't have in height, he has in pure muscle power. I didn't answer and instead did an experimental jab. He gracefully side stepped and responded with his own, but I stepped back. I took a second to assess my situation. He is a good fighter it seemed, with better protection, and obviously more training. Space is not too constricting, as we are fighting in the living room, so we have quite an open area for a battle. I still wanted to fight in the open, to have more options and maneuverability. I decided to stall for a bit.

"Who are you? You were sent to kill me. Who sent you?" I said as I started circling him, slowly inching towards the exit.

"It's not your business kid. We are here to kill you on our boss's orders. We don't answer our victims' questions when we are about to kill them. I don't know what you did to Ptolemus, but you will pay, whatever it is!" He lunged at me, going for an over head strike. I ducked and slashed at his mid section, but he back stepped before I hit him. This time I took the offensive and got closer, trying to get into his guard. We exchanged a couple of swipes until I saw an opprtunity when he overextended on a jab I parried. I got up close fast and took the dagger from my belt. While feinting to a high strike, I quickly got low with the knife and stabbed in his thigh.

He screamed in pain and kicked me with his other lag, but I saw it coming and quickly got up and left, backing up to restart the battle. This time he grew enraged, which is what I hoped for. An enraged enemy is much easier to defeat as he is not thinking straight about his actions, and doing rash desicions that can cost him the battle. It is very important to keep it cool in a battle and always stay focused. He ran at me and swiped wildly, losing himself in the rage very quick. I smirked, knowing that if he will continue like this, my victory is imminent. He does not control his rage. And it served to infuriate him even more. Taunting is just awsome.

He yelled in frustration and did his second mistake; He paid no attention to his surroundings. We were still in the living room. I looked around me to see a chair to my left. I hit him with a wild slash, forcing him to back up, before grabbing the chair with my left hand and tossing it at him, right before I lunged at him my self with a low swipe. He managed to move the chair off of his way, but it obscured his vision for one precious moment, making him unaware of the low cut I made. I managed to give a small gash in both his knees, right between the armor plates, making him yell in pain and fall backwards, before kicking his sword arm, knocking his sword out of his hand. I was about to smash the hilt of the sword to the side of his head to knock him out, when he suddenly pulled a dagger and swiped at me, making me back up. I backed up, but when I was ready to go at him again, he already stood, albeit shakily, and had a second dagger in his other hand. I leveled my sword and knife in a stand my father tought my a while ago, and ran at him, slashing up with the sword, and down with the dagger.

He dodged it skillfully, leaning down with his head to avoid the sword, while stepping back with his legs to evede the knife. He then jumped at me with both knives and tried to stab at my mid section, and I just barely dodged, although he did graze the side of my rib cage. It was not a really hard hit, but a hit nonetheless. I grunted in pain but supressed any other sounds as I had to back step when he double swiped with his knives.

We exchanged more hits and blowes, backing up and slashing at one another. Not long after, we both stood a bit away from each other, each adourning several cuts and wounds from the enemy. We stood there, panting, and I knew I won't be able to hold on for long. The same could be said about my opponent. Alhough he is still a mystery and might have some tricks up his sleeve that I don't know about. I decided to finish it as quick as I can, what with his friend that might be waking up every second now. So I decided to go all out on this attack and throw everything that I had on him but I also knew he was smart. So I had to trick him. I charged at him again yet much more slowly, leading him to believe I was getting tired. He smirked triumphantly and easily parried my strike, carelessly sprinting at me with his knives, but in the process leaving his sides exposed. I side stepped while spinning, far quicker then he thought I was able to, and succeeded to gash at his left waist, making him scream in pain and lose focus. I didn't waste time after that and quickly stabbed him in the throat with my knife, finishing the battle.

I stopped for a minute to regain my breath for a bit. It was a hard and long battle, but I managed to win, barely. If my opponenet was cool headed and calculated I might've lost, but fortunatley his emotions got the better of him and played to my favor. So after all was done I took his body out through the back door, concealed from outside prying eyes, and hid it in our garden under some bushes.

But it wasn't over, I still had the other guy - What was his name again? Polemus? Dolemus? Whatever. I needed to tie him up and do some questioning. I was still furious about my mother's death, so I hold no remorse if I have to involve a little bit of torturing there too. I knew I had some wounds I needed to tend to, but they weren't too bad, I'll first make sure my prisoner doesn't escape before I fish out information from him.

I went to our little storage room in the house and found some rope in it. I took the rope and went to this guy's unconscious body. I took off his armor and weapons, and then I sat him on a chair - With some difficulty, mind you, he is not light by any means - and tied him up around his ankles, wrists and waste like a belt. After that I went to my father's room and pulled out some ambrosia from my father's secret stash, and set to fix up my wounds and wait a little until he wakes up. I did just have a tiring fight, but I also did just wake up from a night's sleep. I took care of my wounds and then just sat there. I _could_ have thrown a little bit of water at him to wake him up faster, but I also wanted to _not_ be out of breath while investigating someone, so I let myself take this rest while he is waking up.

And, soon enough, he began to stir. I immediately sat up straight, putting on what I figured was my best stoic and expressionless face, and silently waited for him to regain his bearings. He groggily opened his eyes and said "Where am I?" And then he tried to move his hand to maybe scracth his eye or something, which ultimately exposed him to the overwhelming fact that he is tied up to a chair, In a room he doesn't know, with a man he doesn't know. That got him bolted right up and looking frantically around the room to try to understand what is going on. Then he spots me and says "Who are you? What is going on here? Let me go you -" But I cut him off with a raise of my hand and said with a deadly calm voice, "I believe _I_ am the one in the position to ask questions here, am I not?" Never leaving the expressionless look on my face.

He looked at me fearfully, only now understanding what was he _really_ in. It didn't really add that I had quite a bit of blood on my clothes, both mine and the other guy's, and that all of his weapons and armor are stripped off of him. He began to panic and even hyperventilate a little bit, and I was quickly getting tired of it. "SILENCE!" I yelled at him and he immediately shut up. Man, he is such a wuss. I looked at his fearfull look with a cold stare and decided to start questioning him. I also better give him the thought that I might be setting him free if he cooperates. Yeah, right. As if I'm going to let my mother's killer and the one that was sent to kill me and robbed my house free on the streets. But I had strong belief that he is stupid enough to believe it. But first, I need to diminish his hope.

I started with something simple. "Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you are going to answer them. Understand?" He nodded vigorously. "And don't you even _dare_ lie to me." He shook his head instantly. "Who knows, if you co-operate I might just set you free." His eyes lit up at that and he nodded, obviously liking that idea. I internaly smiled an evil smile. He is so naive. This was going to be fun.

"First question. What is your name?" "M-My name is P-Ptolemus Milord."

"I see. Who sent you here?" His eyes opened a bit. "A-A-Ah, I'm not supposed to sa-" "ANSWER ME!" I yelled at him, scaring the living shit out of the idiot. "I-I-I w-we were s-sent to k-kill you and y-your f-father-" "You idiot. I already _know_ you were sent to kill me, what I mean is, _who_ freaking sent you, you useless piece of _shit"_ I said, slowly getting irritated from this guy's idiocy. "If I'll say he will kill me" He said fearfully, paling by the second. I smacked my hand on the chair's backseat and leaned him a bit forward so he'll have a good and close up look at my face. "well, I believe _I_ am a more pressing problem for you right now am I not? So, let me ask you _one more time,_ before I start using... _Other_ manners, to get my answers. Who. Do. You. Work. For?" He started literally _shaking_ in his seat. Either I was really scary or he was the biggest pussy I've ever seen. I'd like to think it is the former. Though I would not be surprised if it is the latter. "W-We don't know his name. W-We only know his whereabouts, and even th-that is not certain. We only know that he r-resides in the sothern part of the c-city, in a big marble mansion with g-gold gates. Please don't hurt me!"

He practically yelled in despair, looking so terrified he might piss himself any moment. I decided that I'll ask another question and end this guy's suffering. "Anything more you can tell me about the man?" He looked at me pleadingly, but eventually relented and decided it was a lost cause to try and sway me from my desicion. "He is ruthless, big, and vicious. He does not hesitate to take a man's life and has no remorse or second thoughts about it. Everyone refers to him as "The Bloodrunner". Fitting name if you ask me, the guy is literally insane!-" "But I didn't _ask_ for your opinion. I asked for more information, not stupid, useless nonesense!" Truthfully, the nickname was usefull. Having any closure on the guy's identity, such as said nickname can help me greatly in finding out who he is. If he lives in a mansion he probably has other people and servants in there, so maybe getting some visual info about him from others around will help a lot. "Now, tell me. How does he look? Favorite clothes, special items, everything!"

He started blabbering but then shut himself up quick noticing my glare from 3 inches off of his face. "Ahh-Ah-Ah w-w-well, he is said to always carry on himself a sword made from blood red metal, family treasure. B-But t-to all I know, t-this is all r-rumors, not v-verified truth!" This was a bit more usefull. Something I could use or verify later on. "Hmm. Very well. You were of good use to me Ptolemus." I pulled off of his face and stood in front of him, a look of immense relief passing over his face. I smirked inwardly, the guy was _actually_ thinking I was going to spare his life. I almost felt bad for ridding the world of such innocence. Almost. "Ohhh, thank the _gods!_ Thank you, thank you sir. Now if you would please untie me...-"

"Who said I was going to untie you?"

His face switched from happiness and relief to fear and confusion. "W-What? But you promised that-" "I didn't promise anything, last I rememberd. Not that if I have, I would have kept it." His expression turned to one of horror. "W-Wait! So... S-So what do you plan on doing with me?"

"Quite simple," I chuckled darkly. "After all, you were on the team that killed my mother, and you robbed my house. I'm not feeling very... Mercifull right now." I said as I picked up his sword. I only now realized that my sword was made of celestial bronze, and I killed the other dude with it. That means he was a demigod. Intersting. Me and my father never really needed a normal steel sword as we never really planned on attacking other humans, especially mortals, and steel is much less effective then celestial bronze on monsters. Although, we did always carry a steel dagger, just in case of. I walked up to his wailing and thrashing body and decided that the least I could do is make it fast. I quickly decided to knock him out first. Decapitating him like this will completely stain my entire room and clothes. I knocked him out and took him to the garden, where the other body was. I lifted the sword and with one precise swing severed his head off of his body.

I decided to loot both of their bodies and plan my next step with one ultimate goal; Find and kill the one responsible for my parents' death. For some reason, I have a feeling that they were not a coincidence.

From their bodies I got a total of; 3 daggers, 2 swords, a backpack with some rations and traps, a small pouch with 50 drachmas, and two sets of leather-padded chainmail armor, that in all honesty I might just sell, as the sets seemed to be tailor made for the two, therefore not my size, and I can't wear them.

Going back to planning on my next step, I recalled everything I know so far. Someone sent an army of monsters to massacre the village, therefore alerting the gods on a maybe close to come war. Someone, maybe the same guy maybe not, sent these two mercenaries to kill my father and I, But they killed my mother when we were not there. Before hand, my father recieved a contract to go to the villag- Wait. That's it! I don't really think it was an accident that my father recieved the contract that lead us to the village, especially with the attack on it, and the mercenaries. That is another suspect to question, and get answers from.

I felt immense joy at the fact that I have _some_ leads on who caused my parents death, and luckily for me my father even gave my a location for the guy's contract before we went on the contract. You know, to pick up the payment and stuff.

Tommorow, I'll go on the hunt. And zeus help whoever tries to stop me from getting revenge.

 **A/N:** **Well, finally! Sorry for the _awfull_ one month break guys, but between everything that I had to do be it exams, esseys or hanging out with ma homies I didn't find much time to spend on continuing the story. Be well assured, I have no desire nor meaning to retire and/or abandon this story. It is my prized possession, my finest creation, and quite literaly my first _actual_ story. I have much planned for the future, But also not a lot of ideas on how to write it, plus the fact that I just _looove_ adding things on short notice and stuff that pop up in my head. Hopefully the next chap will arrive much sooner then the last. Until next time,**

 **Evyplayz signing out!**


	5. Final Preparations

**A/N:** **Sup fellas! Wellcome to chapter 5!**

 **So, I can only assume you guys didn't get a notification about the update of the 4th chapter. You see, instead of uploading the chapter and then erasing or simply leaving the A/N chapter, I replaced it, and only now did it occur to me that the FanFiction system didn't seem to consider this an update, so a lot of you probably missed this one. If you didn't read the 4th chapter until now, enjoy the double update! If you did check manually and came across the update, I hope you enjoyed it! I had a lot of fun writing that one. Tell me what were your thoughts of the fight scene in the reviews!**

 **Also, what did you guys think of Percy's demeanor during the questioning? Was is too dark? Not dark enough? Let me know! Not much else to say though, so-**

Anyway, **ONTO THE STORY!**

* * *

I woke up to the sound of birds chirping. It seemed really out-of-place to me, seeing as birds were so peaceful, free and careless, and I was on a hunt for those responsible for the death of my loved ones. Huh. Pretty different lives we have.

I needed to get ready, so I started by grabbing everything essential from the house, albeit not too much or else I would not be able to maneuver fast enough. I knew that I might not see my house for a long time, if I will ever even see it again, so I allowed myself to take some souvenirs. I roamed about, picking all kinds of stuff I believed were necessary. You see, my father was quite a paranoid person, though in a good way. He had many storages around the house, with emergency supplies in them. I always thought these were weird and useless, seeing as I never pictured our house would be attacked or that we'd need to go on the run or something. (Neither of those is happening even now, but hunting is about the same as running, only you have a purpose.)

As ridiculous as it appeared to me at the time, all those storages, it was exactly what I needed right now. I went to these hidden compartments and pulled out; A small belt with 3 throwing knives, (I didn't really know how to use them, but I could always train myself on the way or something) 1200 drachmas, (Which was quite a bit) grabbed the 450 drachmas that were left from my own savings, which I managed to hide from the mercenaries, And food and rations for about 3 months. I also found a crappy bow and some makeshift arrows, but I already had the bow I wanted to give my father, and mine and his quivers filled with good arrows, so I was good in that regard. There was also my father's knife, but I decided to go with my own, as my father's was more damaged, due to constant use for years more then my own. I Also grabbed the knives from the 2 mercenaries. They were identical. I already took my father's sword, as it is better then my own. His vambraces and greaves were too big for me to use and there was no way I was going to sell them.

All in all it wasn't the best, but it was enough for me. I also packed up a couple of spare clothes from my closet, (Or those that were left, at least; The robbers ripped apart most of them when they 'explored' the house for loot, to see if there were valuables hidden inside them) And then took the two armor sets from the mercenaries to sell them at the market, (After cleaning them, of course. They had quite a decent amount of blood stains on them) And who knows, I might find something else usefull to buy in there to help me with my travels. It killed me to need to leave here important stuff like my father's armor and other weapons, as they hold great sentimental value for me, but I knew this was impractical. I was already heavy with the mercenaries' armor sets, plus my own, and that is only on the way to the market. Carrying my father's as well all the way? Yeah, no way, as saddening as it is. Also, facing the hard truth, my father's armor was kinda worn down and not really worth that much altogether.

So I strapped my armor, sheathed my sword and knives as well as slung my bow over my shoulder, And, on top of all that, shouldered my... _Giant_ pack and went outside, on my way to the market, cursing my aching back bones all the while. As I passed by, people shot glances at me. I could understand why, though. A heavily armed sixteen years old kid walking around with a huge ass backpack filled with rattling sounds and looking like it weighed 400 kilograms _{I use kilograms, not pounds. Got a problem with that?}_ wasn't an ordinary sight, let me tell you that.

I reached the house that had the secret entrance to the market, and turned to Asamaiah, the market guardian. He saw me entering and didn't really question much. I guess he saw the _ginormous_ back pack on my poor spine and decided to spare my dear soul, so he didn't really bother much and opened the pathway for me to go through. I nodded to him in thanks and went inside.

I went to another one of the stands I remember me and my father going to, albeit pretty vaguely. It was the armor stand we went to everytime we needed to buy or sell armor. You see, we don't really go there all that often because armor is something that doesn't get destroyed quite easily, especially with the type of armor we use, being no more then bracers and greaves, so it is rare we need to go here to fix it or buy a new set. The armor and weapon ramnants we get every now and then from monsters we mostly sell as scrap, because it is mostly in bad shape, and we have no use or need to repair it. The stand guy buys armor, as long as it is not in too bad of a shape.

I reached his stand and rang the bell, and waited for him to arrive. I didn't remember his name, since we aren't really close friends or anything of the sort, so I didn't call out to him, only rang. As I waited, a feminine voice called out, "Coming! Just a second!" Accompanied by a couple of crashing sounds and muttered curses. Well, that was new. In the few times I've been here I don't think I ever saw a female working in his shop. And never so clumsy. Perheps she is new or something. Anyway, the female came behind the desk and put on a polite smile. I smiled back and said "Hi. Never saw you here before. Are you new here?" She kept smiling, although now it seemed a bit more genuine, and said "Yeah, I'm glad you noticed. The owner here, Phoseus, Is my uncle. My name is Tyra. I work here every now and then. How can I be of service?" I took a second to exemine her. She looked good over all, with a sky blue tunic , golden braclets on her biceps and raven black, wavey, lush hair. Her face were that of a godess, if I ever seem one. Not that I did, but yeah. Even though they were small, and she was very beautifull, what fascinated me the most were her eyes.

They looked like a kaleidoscope, with ever changing colors. One second it was rich brown. The next sparkling blue, like her clothing. Next shining topaz. They were mesmerizing, and I started to feel lost in them. I then realized how beautiful her voice sounded, flowing freely like a river, swirling like a fount- _'Snap out of it Percy!'_ I said in my head. Whoa. What just happened to me? I started to get lost in her eyes again, but I managed to gain some semblance of self control and snap out of it with a small shake of my head.

I looked up to see her smile wider then ever before with a spark of mischievousness in her eyes. Her eyes, that seemed to make everything dull in comparison to the rich colo- _'Stop this idiot! Stop ogling her eyes, it's freaking creepy!'_ My mind yelled in my mind. { _Never thought I'd hear myself say that. Weird sentence.}_ I focused again and this time found it a bit easier to resist this effect she had on me with but a single gaze in her eyes. Still, I decided to focus on her perfectly sculpted nose instead. Much less distracting. I saw her smile widen even more, if that was even possible, and she said "Ooh, a strong one, I like it. I never get much of a challenge. I'll give you some break. Anyway, do you need help sir?" I sighed a bit in relief and dared a look in her eyes, instead of just staring at her nose like an idiot, and was relieved to see that their color was set on deep sea green. Not that it wasn't distracting, but it was _much_ better then before, when I wanted to drown myself in her eyes.

"Thanks. How are you doing it, by the way? It's quite... Disturbing to say the least. I felt like I could look in your eyes for decades and listen to your voice for that and more." She laughed a beautiful laugh and said "I'm a daughter of Aphrodite, It's our innate power, and it's called Allure. The eyes effect is universal to Aphrodite kids and their color is determined by our emotion or, if we let them go free, the color changes all the time. The voice, however, is a rare ability not all Aphrodite kids can use. It's called Charmspeak. Basically, my voice is layered with magic that, should I activate it, gives it a few abilities; It sounds attractive and stuns others, it will make others pay more attention to what I say, and if I'm strong enough it can make others obey my wishes, though I'm not very good at it and you can resist it with sheer willpower, if you are strong enough." My eyes widened at this. I always took Aphrodite kids as lazy narcissists that don't really care about anything but their looks and are pretty powerless compared to other children of other gods, and even mortals. Learning children of Aphrodite have such power is amazing, even if only for some of them, as she said this power is pretty rare.

She looked at me and seemed to start getting a little mad. "Now, I know what you must think; 'OMGs, I was sure children of Aphrodite only cared about looks and themselves and shit', well, let me tell you," "Tyra." I tried to interrupt the coming onslaught, but she ignored me. "That no! Not all of us are this lazy and care-free! Not all of us are pompous," "Tyra." She kept on ignoring me. "Useless brats, who always think that the way they look is-" "Tyra!" I snapped and she finally stopped ranting and looked at me. "Geez, calm down! No one thought that, ok?" I mean _I_ did. But what you don't know doesn't hurt, right? "I can see you are different. Just, calm down." I quickly interrupted her.

"You don't think I'm useless?" She asked with a hopeful voice and extremely powerfull puppy dog eyes. Now, while earlier I just though she was a little weird, now I just _knew_ she was weird. One second you want to kill me and the next you are doing puppy dog eyes? What the heck is wrong with you? Anyway, I succeeded in resisting the eyes. I was too shaken up by her sudden outburst to really notice anyway.

"Tyra, listen. I just want to sell some stuff, okay? I'm sorry if I offended you in any way, I really am. Now, can you call your uncle so I could talk to him?" Man, talk about mood swings. "Ok." she said, the polite smile plastered on her face again. See what I mean? "Let me get my uncle for you, one second!" She receded behind the counter, back into the shop, to tell Phoseus I'm here. Meanwhile, I just stood there, awkward, feeling relieved that no-one else was in the shop besides me. _That_ would have been embarrasing.

A couple minutes later Phoseus finally came. "Hello young lad, sorry for holding you for so long. As you probably know, my name is Phoseus. I see you have already met Tyra. I hope she didn't give you any trouble, did she?" He said with a knowing tone. I chuckled and said "No, nothing too major." He laughed a bit as well and said "Well, how can I be of service? By the way, you look familiar. Have you been here before?" "Yes I have, a couple times actually, with my father. You might not remember me as we didn't arrive too often, and I didn't talk much, but I was here." "I see. So, anything you need?" "Oh yeah. I have two sets of chainmail armor I'm willing to sell. Are you interested in buying them?" I asked and he told me to show him the sets, so I did.

I laid them on the desk and he examined them closely. "Hmm, high quality gear indeed. Where did you get these young lad, if you don't mind me asking?" I had a feeling he would ask me this so I came up with a rather convincing (I hope so, at least) backstory on how I got them. "Well, I went on a little bar a small ways off with a couple of my friends, and there were two guys there, wearing this armor, and they were drunk. When they saw us They started to annoy us, looking at us and muttering things, with The occasional insult and jeers. I, in my drunken state, had had enough at a certain point, and eventually it escalated into a duel we made in the arena nearby. We decided that one of us will fight against one of them, and that if we win, The fighter gets both of their armor sets. If we lose, we would have to pay them 1000 drachmas. We agreed and I volunteered to fight. As you can see, I won. I have no need for this armor since I am more of a speed kind of guy, and this armor will only hinder my movement, not to mention the fact that it is too big for me anyway, so I had nothing to do with it. By the way, my name is Perseus." Yeah, really convincing. I know, don't judge me.

"I see. This armor is pretty high quality Perseus, you won a good bet there. That also explains why one is beat down compared to the other, which is in pristine condition. I can sell you the better armor for 750 drachmas and beat down one for 350 drachmas. What do you say?" I thought about it for a bit. He is not very likely to lie to me, because if he wasn't honest on the price I'm sure my father wouldn't have gone to him for armor, so I decided to agree to the deal. "Anything else you need?" He asked. I pondered about it for a bit. Right now, I had 2750 drachmas, (which was a _very_ nice amount, might I add) So I decided to put them to good use. I sold him my current armor, which consisted of bracers and leather padded greaves, all for 220 drachmas, and then I told him of what I wanted to buy. It would cost me 500 drachmas. After 15 minutes of measuring, he told me he would start working on it, and in about 3.5 - 4 hours it would be ready. I thanked him and went out to see if there was anything else that might catch my eye.

That's when I saw a small crowd near Spitha's stand. I was intruiged, as a small crowd usually meant either an auction, or a heated argument, so I went there. Not that I wouldn't have gone there anyway, seeing as I wanted to check and see if he had any cool, magical gadgets I could use. You can never go wrong with a couple of magical, dangerous items, right? When I got there I asked one of the people what was the commotion about. He told me that soon, Spitha is going to make an auction on a magical backpack; one that could store anything until it reaches 230 kilos, _{about 500 pounds, I think}_ but it would only feel like carrying 5 kilos at max. Of course, all is limited to what could enter through the backpack.

Thinking about it thoroughly, I realized that this will be _perfect_ for me. Light-weight, and can still store a huge amount of items in it? Now _that_ is cool. Not to mention it will be perfect for my journey. And wait! I will be able to take things from my house that I couldn't before because they were too big and heavy, and with this they will be easier to carry. I _need_ this bag!

So I decided to stay for the auction, who knows, I might win the bag. Although that is quite unlikely, seeing as there were quite the number of people here. A couple minutes later Spitha came out, with a neutral colored brown backpack in his hand, although it gave off a little... Aura, you could say. One could only assume this was the magical backpack, although it appeared to me that people didn't really seem to notice the backpack being any different then a normal backpack. Unless they do and it is normal, and I'm just exaggerating. Probably the latter. Then he started the auction, but not before giving a little demonstration. He took the bag and a 3ft long and 5 inches wide metal pole, and put it headfirst into the bag, albeit with a little difficulty, as it was quite heavy. Right in front of our shocked eyes, the 3ft pole got completely inside the bag, which isn't even 2ft tall! And you couldn't even tell it is there, with how easy it was to lift it. There is a major difference between hearing about something, seeing it in your own eyes, and doing it yourselves. _That_ was just _wicked!_ After that he pulled out the metal rod and started the auction;

"Ladies and gentlemen! You have seen the abilities of this bag! You know what it can do! The options are endless! This treasure that I came by was not an easy find. A close friend of mine has traveled far and wide to get this incredible item, and it has served me well for quite a while! And now, I present to you the opportunity to get your own hands on such immaculate object, to purchase it and make it yours! Starts with 250 drachmas!"

That's where people started throwing prices. I decided that I will stay and see when will they stop and then see if the highest bidder gave a price I think is worth topping. It gave me confidence seeing a big chunk from the group already leaving after they heard the prices, but a few left and the bidding kept going.

"Count me in! I want it!"

"I raise to 260! I'm higher!"

"275 drachmas! I put 275!"

"290 drachmas! I-"

"300! I'll pay 300!"

Slowly but surely the bids went up, and the people started walking away, until there were 3 people left, including me, with current highest bidder at 410 drachmas.

"415! I'll put 415!"

The other man growled and said "Fine. I put 420! This backpack will be mine!"

The other grit his teeth. "4 _40_ drachmas, _last offer._ Ready to lose?"

That's when I stepped in. I decided to just drop the bomb and finish this, I didn't have power for petty arguments. "500 drachmas. Any bidder?" They both looked at me like I fell from the the sky. "What?!" "Where did _you_ come from?!" "Listen young man, we both want this item. You can't just come and-" I stopped them before they could continue much further. "Why, of course I can. This is how bidding works, isn't it? The highest bidder wins, and currently I'm higher then either of you, so if your not going to bid higher, either stay and watch me take it, or bust off!"

They were so angry, that they both looked redder than the ripest tomato I've ever seen, almost purple! It was hilarious! "Listen here, _punk._ I don't like your tone. You will talk to me with the respect I deserve!" I laughed, which only served to anger him even more. "Sorry, I don't respect sore losers. Not that I would respect you anyway, but that's a different subject." He became even redder, if that was possible. "You sure have a big mouth, _kid._ It would do well for you to shut it up sometimes." "Sure, sure. I was told this a lot, and as you can see, I'm still all fine and in one piece, so obviously they were empty threats. Now, are you going to bid more or are you going to keep whining all day and waste my time? I've got places to be at and people to see, so be quicker please, thank you." He growled at me and said "Remember this kid. Remember this day vividly." And then he stormed off. The other dude that was here went away a while ago, about the time we started the argument, while Spitha just awkwardly watched from the side and waited for us to finish.

I turned to him with a triumphant smirk. "Well, it seems I am the winner of the auction. Here are your drachmas." I handed him the 500 drachmas and he gave me the backpack. "Well, congratulations Perseus, you have won the backpack. Make good use of it, it really is a great item to have. Although, you don't lay this price, for this item, simply bexause it's cool. May I ask what do you need it for? Just out of curiosity."

I answered, though the memory made my voice drop to a cold tone. "I decided that I'm going to hunt those who are responsible for my mother's death. They will pay for what they have done, and I am going to be the one to deliver that payment. Should I somehow find those who unleashed the moster army on the village, therefore responsible for my father's death, all the better." His face saddened at my reply. "Perseus... I can't begin to understand the sorrow and pain you are feeling right now, and the obvious desire for revenge as an outcome, but I beg of you, rethink you future actions. It would be of no good for a young man such as yourself to wallow in dark feelings and intentions such as these. The path you are seeking is very dangerous and might be your last. You are only sixteen, think of the things the world still has to offer!"

I knew his words were smart and of wisdom, but I was to full of hate and pain to acknowledge his good intentions. Besides, the dream I had with The Fates can't possibly be a coincidence. I just have a feeling this is my destiny... Not that I could have told him that, but never mind. "I will do my best to hear your warnings Spitha, but this is something I must do. I hope you understand at least that. If my journey will be succesful, I'll be sure to come back and live a peaceful life. As peaceful as they can be for a moster hunter, that is." I cracked a small smile at this, as did he.

"Well, it would appear I cannot sway your desicion, so I would wish you good luck instead. May Tyche gift you with good fortune on your journey my boy. Hopefully, we wil meet again eh?" I smiled. "Yes, hopefully we will meet again Spitha." Then I turned and left with my new acquired backpack in my hands.

Having the backpack really changed my initial ideas. I went back home to rearrange all of the items I take with me in the new backpack. After another back-breaking walk I made it to my house and crashed in my room, planning on resting for a bit and then going back to the market. There may still be items I might want to get, and I will need to pick up my new armor afterwards.

After a well deserved rest I picked up my backpack (Who doesn't weigh 400 kilos luckily, only 5. Thank you magic!) and went back on my way to the market. I decided to take a couple more things when I went back home, such as my father's armor and other sentimental items along the way. Then I headed back to the market, and kept on looking for intersting stuff I can get.

When I arrived there I checked how much drachmas I have to spend. I currently hold 2470 drachmas, which is a _very_ healthy amount let me tell you. I walked around looking at all kinds of stands that stood out to me until I found something that intrigued me. It was a blue ring with small wing symbols etched into it. When I asked about it the seller told me that the ring can make any one who wears it run twice as fast. That was quite awesome, but I decided to keep on looking, as this ring cost 580 drachmas, it was crazy! So I kept on looking, and I'm glad that I did. I found a red, cool looking wrist band that hightened my senses, a black and red knife that can coat itself in deadly flames that didn't hurt the blade's user, a gold necklace that enhances the wearer's overall stamina, a slightly glowing green earring that makes me able to recognize and be immune to some types of poisons, and more.

After a bit of brain storming, I decided to buy the wrist band for 630 drachmas. The senses upgrade will allow me to notice details earlier and plan ahead accordingly, which is a very usefull ability to have, especially a hunter like me. I decided on also buying the running ring and the stamina necklace for 960 drachmas. Together I will be able to move quickly and efficiantly. All in all, I had 880 drachmas left. I wasted quite a bit, but I had quite a bit left. The reason the running ring cost so much was because it was special. It was able to be activated at will, instead of it always working. That way I can catch enemies off guard and use it to my advantage.

Then I kept on looking around the market. I came across a small stand, one that was labled 'Scraps'. It wasn't anything special, but I checked it anyway. The seller wasn't there at the moment, so I took a look at the things he had there. Man, this stand was named 'Scraps' for a reason. Everything here seemed broken and/or useless in one way or another. Just when I was about to leave, I saw a glimmer from the pile of scraps. I felt a certain... Pull to that glimmer, so I went to check and see what is it. When I touched a felt a small shock, for the briefest of moments. I pulled it out of the pile and I saw that it was a hairpin, with a little green jewel on top, that made the glimmer. I doubted the seller knew it was here. The jewel seemed quite expensive.

As I inspected the hairpin, I didn't notice the seller returning to his position. I swear he wasn't there a second ago! "Found somethin' ya like lad?" I jumped, startled at his voice. I looked up to see an elderly man, looking in his 70's or 80's or so, with a kind smile and laugh lines around his face. I quickly regained my senses and answered "Ah, yeah. This hairpin is... Enticing to me. How much for it?" He smiled "Well, tis' one of many scraps I have. A single drachma'll suffice." I gaped at that. "Sir, not to be disrespectful or anything, but this hairpin seems far more valuable then a single drachma. It has a _jewel_ on top, that seems very real. It must be worth more than that!" He chuckled a bit and answered "Well young lad, I didn't notice it at all. But I cannot change the price, it'll go against my own code; Everything in my store's one drachma. I can't go and change the Fates' will, now can I?" I shook my head at that. "I know you don't want to change your ways, but one drachma is nothing compared to the worth this thing can have. I'll at least pay you 50 drachmas, something!"

He laughed at that. "Well, if you're so insistant on paying _more_ for an item, it must be the Fates' will. Who am I to dissuade ya eh?" We both smiled, and I paid him 50 drachmas. I thanked him, but when I walked away from his stand I suddenly heard him say " _Ανακλυσμός_. The current that takes one by surprise. And before you know it, you've been swept out to sea." _Weird._ I turned to look at him only to find to my amazment that he was... Gone. Stand and everything. I blinked a couple times and even pinched myself to make sure I'm not dreaming or something. I walked up to the place where the stand had been a few moments ago, but nothing. As if it had never even been here before.

Okay, yeah, I've been a monster hunter with my father for a couple years now, I _have_ seen some weird shit before, but this is a whole other level.

Did I just dream this? I checked in my pocket to find the hairpin. It's still there. I pulled it out and took a better look at it. Maybe it had something to do with the man disappearing? I mean, it's like no one has ever seen him before, as no matter who I ask, they look at me weirdly, thinking I've gone mad or something.

After looking at the hairpin for a bit longer, I suddenly found something that I swear wasn't there before. It looked like an engraving of some kind. I squinted my eyes, trying to get a better look at it. _Ανακλυσμός._ Riptide. What did the man say? Something about sea and current. Well, the hairpin definetly had _something_ to do with the old man's disappearance. The question is what.

Yup, definetly top weird things happening to me.

I shook my head, put the pin back in my pocket, and went on. I looked to the giant clock _{Yes, there were clocks in ancient times. Not as advanced as ours, and definetly not working on electricity, but sun watches_ were _a thing.}_ And saw that the time for my armor to be ready has arrived. I walked over to Phoseus' stand and saw him standing near the entrance. Probably waiting for me.

When I got close he noticed me. "Hey, Perseus, good to see you. Yes, your armor is ready. I must say, I have some creations I'm proud of, but this... This is one the best I've made so far, no doubt. I'm sure your going to love it!" He said with a smile. I smiled too and walked in with him. On the desk were four items covered with red cloth. He went behind the desk and stood in front of the items.

"Here are the armor pieces, as you have requested. 2 fine greaves, and 2 fine vambraces." He took off the red cloth uncovering the armor and I gasped; It was beautiful.

There were two vambraces, replacing the poor bracers I had. They were completely colored black, each the size of my entire forearm. At the end that connects with the back of my hand it had a sharp edge, so if I were to hit someone with a fist with my hand folded down it would cut him. At the other end of the vambrace, the part the reaches my elbow it as shaped as a knife, so if someone were to put me in a choke hold, I can elbow him and the sharp part will hit him.

As for my greaves, they were a similar deal. All black, which I _love,_ with knife shaped edges towards the knee, so if I were to knee someone, it would cut him as well. They also had a knife sheath tailor made to the knives I had on each of them.

I absolutely _loved_ those things. The armor looked very high quality, what with it being placed above soft leather padding, making it actually comfortable to wear. It was made of steel, but the knife edges had celestial bronze tips above steel tips, so it could hurt both the devine and mortal. If it was a mortal I'm attacking, the celestial bronze tip would simply go through him, allowing the steel edge to hit. If it was a monster, the celestial bronze would hit it.

Quite ingenious If I do say so myself.

And it's definetly _not_ because I came up with it. Not at all.

I thanked Phoseus and went to try it on. It fit me perfectly. Almost as if it was tailor made for me... Wouldn't know anything about it, would I? Nah, no way.

Jokes aside, it was great. It was exactly my size, but you could easily see that expension was in mind, should I get more muscles or any of the sort. I put the two identical knives in their sheathes on my greaves, paid and thanked Phoseus again for this incredible gear, and got out of the market.

I reached my home to do final preperations, decide on my first target and say goodbye to the place I spent over a decade and a half growing in.

When I reached home I suddenly felt a strange feeling from my pocket, a certain... Humming, you could say. I realized that it came from the hairpin in my pocket. I pulled it out and, to my utter amazement, it shined with green color.

Shined!

With green color!

Why are my life so weird?

On immediate instinct I touched the jewel and, out of nowhere, a freaking bronze sword sprung out!

I dropped the sword from surprise and simply stood there, looking at it. After I realized it's not going to kill me, I picked it up and checked it. It was a meter long, with a 20 centimeter black leather grip, and it was the most balanced sword I have ever felt. It was literaly _perfect_. I, again, doubted the old seller knew about this, but than again, He disappeared completely in a blink of an eye, so I don't know what to think anymore.

It was made of celestial bronze, that I could tell, and it was shaped as a _xiphos_ one of the popular sword types. I looked and near the hilt, on the blade, like the hairpin, was engraved; _Ανακλυσμός._ Anaklusmos. Riptide.

I decided to not look a gift horse in the mouth, and accepted the sword. Again on instinct, I touched the tip of the blade and it shrunk down to the hairpin again.

I smiled, thinking of all the cool scenarios that could happen with having this sword.

I decided that today was quite an eventful day, with all the weird things that happened, and my brain needed rest. My near future will be dangerous. And I'm going to need it in it's best state for the weeks to come.

And with that happy note, I went to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N:** **Wow. Yeah, that took a while, sorry.**

 **With not much free time (Due to school. Thanks life!) and inspiration gone I basically found no time to write. Also, I can only write in my PC which is occupied most of the time, so yeah, sorry bout that. This chapter I made a bit longer for you all to enjoy, about 6k words without ANs, making it the largest so far. I know it's not much compared to what you guys should've had but, I try my best. Now to story stuff.**

 **Percy got Riptide! I actually thought about it quite a bit. Should he recieve Riptide now? Later? I decided that that he will have it, for now... And yeah,** **while** **it _is_ meant for a child of the sea, and Percy is just a mortal, this is still a badass sword to have. And I have plans for that, so have no worry!**

 **BTW, you guys might notice all kinds of personallity changes in Percy throughout the story. He _did_ just lose both of his life mentors, obviously he won't be mentally stable for a bit of time, until he finds the right time to grieve and deal with the loss. His overhappiness sometimes allows him to push the pain aside for a bit, while his 'dark' moments allows him to release his pent up stress. After he gets past the emotional turmoil I'll try my best to write his charachter by the books, unless you guys want his personallity to be a little different? **

**Tell me your thoughts in the reviews, I'd like to read them and find ways to improve the story by you guys' requests!**

 **Also, who should Percy go after to 'question' first? The one who gave his father the contract, or the one who sent the mercenaries? Lemme know!**

 **Also, vothe on the Poll that's on my profile page. Should I change or not?**

 **Evyplayz signing out!**


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